We Must Not Look At Goblin Men
by Superlarks
Summary: Falling in love with a jerk isn't good. Falling in love with a jerk who isn't human is worse. But not knowing who you've fallen in love with and that they're not human can get just a little confusing. Prepare yourself for the roller-coaster of a lifetime
1. A friend in need, is a friend indeed

**A/N: This is a completely from scratch story. I know this probably shouldn't go onto fanfiction, but hey. It was inspired by the Twilight Saga and carries a similar plot-line. I hope you enjoy the first chapter as I've really enjoyed writing it, for once. It's about Catrin, she's the main character. Hopefully you'll guess that as you go along. There is supernatural stuff in this, just not yet. I have no idea how long this will be. This all belongs to me, thanks. Please don't copy it without my permission. And believe me there will be some wicked surprises further along. I know first chapters can sometimes be boring and I'll stop rambling now ;)**

**Here is a short summary:**

_Falling in love with a jerk isn't good. Falling in love with a jerk who isn't human is worse. But not knowing who you've fallen in love with and that they are not human can get just a little confusing. Catrin Yates is about to go on one roller coaster ride she'll never forget!_

**Chapter 1 – A Friend in need is a friend indeed**

"_Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who,_

_for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage…"_

"Are you reading that _again_?" I heard the voice next to me.

I looked up. "You know I love Jane Austen, mum." I replied.

"You love every book, Catrin." She replied chuckling

"That's not true." I argued, I liked _most_ books and _this_ was my favourite.

She let it drop. I sighed and looked out the window. It was getting dark. I closed my book.

"Where are we, anyway?" I asked.

"According to Tim we'll be there in about an hour."

"Who's Tim?" I asked, puzzled.

She pointed at the dashboard. "Our sat nav."

I rolled my eyes. "Are you two engaged yet?" I asked sarcastically.  
She stuck out her tongue at me, playfully. I laughed.

"Tim, do you take Eva, to be your lawful wedded wife?" I asked the sat nav expectantly.

"_Take the exit."_

We burst out laughing. "How convenient." My mother added.

We were returning from our weekend trip to my Nan's. It had been my mum's birthday recently and Gwyneth, my grandmother, had insisted on us driving up to see her. She was very kind and gentle and loved talking with me about various books, however the time flew by and before we knew it we were heading off again. Visiting Gwyneth always exhausted my mother. I never knew quite what the reason was, but I guessed that that it had something to do with the interrogations Gwyneth put Eva through. I remembered my mum once calling her the 'Spanish Inquisition.'

"You never really told me what it was about?" My mum said.

"What, what was about?" I asked confused.

"The book." She pointed to my lap and squinted with her eyes. "Per…sua…sion. Persuasion."

I rolled my eyes. "Honestly, I don't think I'm at all related to you. You're my complete opposite when it comes to reading."

She laughed then shrugged. "Must've got that from your father." She mumbled.

I looked up at her. Her eyes looked pained. This was a sensitive topic. We never really talked about him. Eva hadn't withheld information about him, from me. She just didn't like to mention him so casually.

She looked at me. "So? Tell me."

I smiled. "It's about love."

Eva raised an eyebrow. "Love." She stated.

I sighed. "Okay, it is about a man and a woman who are in love when they are young. They want to marry but the girl, Anne, gets persuaded to break off the relationship. Therefore breaking Frederick Wentworth's heart.

Years later they meet again by coincidence and have to spend a lot of time in each other's company. They don't know if it's too late and too much time has passed to try again, but they realise they still love each other get back together and live happily ever after." I looked at my mother.

She laughed. "Well, it sounds like a fairy tale, if you ask me."

"Mum, the words 'books' and 'reading' together with your name in one sentence do not make sense."

She chuckled. "I can't help it. Why would you want to be stuck inside all day staring at pages of writing? Just the thought of it makes me yawn."

"Alright, alright. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion."

"Look we're nearly home." Eva said tiredly.

I smiled sleepily. "That's good. After all, I do have school tomorrow."

When we got home I unloaded, Meg, our Border Collie from the boot and dragged myself up the stairs to my bedroom. I got myself ready for bed quickly and envied Meg, who was already lying in her bed in my room watching my every move.

I sighed and threw myself on the bed, drifting off quickly.

The alarm clock woke me; annoyed I turned it off and tried to roll over. Meg was licking my face. Telling me to get up. I'd always understood Meg well.

I sighed and got up.

It was cloudy outside, but at least it was dry. I ate breakfast, took Meg for a quick walk and got ready. Eva had already gone. She was a nurse at the local hospital. Hours were tough and unpredictable, but she enjoyed it.

I grabbed my bike, put my coat on and rode off to school. Most kids thought I was weird for riding my bike to school. After all 'I wasa _girl_'. I didn't really care what they thought, walking would mean I would have to get up even earlier and Eva couldn't drive me because of her job.

It was quite chilly this morning and I could feel my hands on the handlebars going numb. I'd forgotten to wear my gloves, but then again I didn't actually know their whereabouts at the moment.

It was the first day back, and the new kids would be arriving. This was my least favourite day of the school year, everyone was always very noisy and over excited.

As I expected, the newcomers stared and whispered as I rode past them on my bike. It's not like it was embarrassingly cheap or a horrid colour. It was a very expensive mountain bike. I'd heard those were 'in' at the moment. Not that I cared.

I chained my bike in the school's appalling bike shed, grabbed my bag and walked towards campus. The school was ugly. It was old and the buildings looked like they hadn't been a repaired in a long time.

I stowed my coat in my locker and made my way to class. There was an air of excitement around me as everyone caught up with their friends and told stories about what they had done over the summer.

Our form tutor Mr. B. smiled at us as we came in. I smiled in return. He was one of my favourite teachers. He always seemed to glow with positivity.

"Good Morning, Catrin." He greeted me, showing off his perfectly white teeth.

"Morning Mr. B." I replied. More whispers were heard behind me. I was often referred to as Mr. B's pet. I didn't actually know his full name. He'd always been Mr. B.

He wasn't your average teacher. With a crop of jet-black hair, deep dark grey eyes and his extremely handsome face. He was often referred to as the most fancied teacher, which was lucky for him as he was already married. He looked like he did exercise on a regular basis, he was toned and his fashion sense wasn't bad either. All in all a perfect teacher _and_ he was pretty young, when it comes to teachers anyway. He couldn't have been older than thirty.

I took my place in the front, as always next to an empty seat. People were still filing in, but eventually Mr. B. managed to settle everyone down. I looked up to see an unfamiliar face standing next to him. The whispers struck up again as everyone else spotted him. I wondered who he was and realised he must be a new student, come to join our class. I smiled at him tentatively; I knew how he must feel. He stared back, his dark green eyes penetrating mine and sending a shiver down my spine.

"Everyone this is Rhys Gobel. He's the newest addition to our class." He waited in silence for the class' reaction. There was an unpleasant silence but then suddenly everyone erupted into conversation, remembering that they still had things to discuss.

Mr. B sighed with relief. "Now then, where should we put you?" He asked Rhys, surveying the classroom. He spotted the empty seat next to me and walked towards me, Rhys following behind.

_Oh, no! _I thought. This couldn't be happening. I _liked_ being on my own. _Ugh, why did I have to smile at him like that?_ No one else seemed to notice, or rather no one else cared.

I sighed and started to shift my things out of the way, to make space for this newcomer. I felt sorry for him in a way, but in another way I regretted ever laying eyes on him.

"Catrin, would you mind showing Rhys around the school a little, you know, make him feel welcome?" He smiled at me expectantly.

"Um, sure Mr. B, why not?" I replied Rhetorically.

"Thanks, Catrin." He replied and turned to Rhys who was fiddling with his clothes. "Rhys, this is Catrin. Catrin has been here a while and she'll show you the ropes and tell you how things work around here." Rhys nodded and inclined his head towards me. Again those eyes bored into mine, and I wondered what secrets they concealed.

"Well, I'll leave you to it." Mr. B broke the uncomfortable silence that had erupted between Rhys and me.

I smiled again at Mr. B, and he walked back to the blackboard. That's one of the things I loved about this school. No high-tech White Boards, attached to computers with an in-built cinema sound system. Just a plain old blackboard, with chalk and a sponge. It was those little things that I liked most.

Rhys slid into the seat next to me, a seat that had been unoccupied for a length of time, and got out his pencil case.

Mr. B, was our science teacher as well as our form tutor. Another reason to why I liked him so much, science being one of my favourite subjects.

A few minutes passed, I answered questions directed at me and took notes obediently.

"So, you a science whiz then?" Rhys asked me suddenly.

I blushed and immediately got defensive. I hated it when people called me those kind of names. "Mind your own business." I snapped, rather rudely.

His eyes widened. "Sorry, I didn't mean… I mean I didn't want to offend you."

I looked at him in silence.

"I was just saying, you know, that you seem to be really good at this subject." He hesitated.

I smiled sarcastically. "Well, it helps being good at science if you want to study medicine in the future."

His eyes grew in amazement. "Wow, so you want to be a doctor?"

"A vet." I corrected him. "Not that a vet isn't a doctor."

"A vet. Cool." He said this with so much honesty that I looked at him, puzzled.

"Are you making fun of me?" I asked, annoyed.

"Fun?" He asked surprised. "No, why would I?"

"Humph." I murmured. "Everyone else does." Oops, that wasn't meant to come out loud.

Rhys looked surprised again. "They do? Why?"

I shrugged. "They always need _someone_ to pick on. This time it's just me, I guess."

And just to reinforce this, someone shouted: "Oi, Catrin! You gettin' all cosy with the new kid? I hope you don't think he'll become your friend. That's more unlikely than your father coming back from the dead."

I flinched at the painful memory and turned around. "Well at leas my father didn't cheat on my mother and sleep with prozzies."

The class cheered us on, but Mr. B interrupted us.

"That is ENOUGH!" He yelled and everyone grew quiet. "Now if you don't want to end up in detention this week, Percy then I suggest you get on with your work and keep comments like that to yourself." He shot Percy a warning look. "You, too, Catrin." He added, looking at me. He winked.

I cringed, I didn't like it when Mr. B, made it so obvious that he liked me.

Rhys looked at me. I thought he would day something about Mr. B but he didn't. "Nice comeback." He said simply and the bell went.

xxxx

Mr. B had told me that Rhys should just come to all my lessons with me, as he did not possess a timetable. Rhys tagged along quietly, commenting here and there when I showed him around the school, bur otherwise keeping himself to himself.

Break time faced me with a dilemma; normally I would eat on my own and then go to the school library on my own. I realised what I lonely life I led. I tried to find out what Rhys wanted to do.

"So where do you want to eat?" I asked just after we had left Maths.

"I don't mind really, wherever suits me fine." He shrugged dismissively and I led him to a deserted lunch table, outside. The sun had come out during the day and it was nice to feel it's warm rays on my skin.

I was setting my lunch down when suddenly Rhys stopped me.

I looked at him puzzled.

"You have something on your face." He said, reaching out with one hand, smiling.

I was going to protest, I didn't want him to touch me, it would feel awkward when suddenly, someone rammed into me from behind. Rhys was pushed into a sitting position. My whole lunch flew across the table and landed on the floor. Smothered in sand and dirt.

"Hey watch it!" I snapped and turned around to face whomever had just ruined my meal. It was Seamus. Seamus was a boy in my class. Everyone left him alone. He had an air about him that scared most people. Honestly I didn't know what they meant, so it didn't stop me from accusing him wildly.

"What do you think you're doing, just pushing me over? Do you even have eyes? You know those two things that pop right out of your head every time someone mentions your name!"

He looked at me, like I was a little child. "You what? Oh, yeah… Catrin, isn't it?" He snorted sarcastically.

My anger nearly boiled over. Rhys looked a little shocked, but then shock turned to rage.

"Do you know what you just did?" He accused, loudly.

I jumped, surprised. Why was he defending me?

Seamus looked as surprised as I was.

Rhys continued. "You are shouting at a _girl_ after _you_ pushed her over! Do you know how rude that is? You could at least offer to pay her for a new lunch. Or simply _apologise!_"

I thought Seamus looked torn for a minute, but I might have imagined it. Rhys still looked irrationally outraged. I wondered why it mattered so much to him. He looked like he was ready to kill Seamus. Rhys caught me looking at him, puzzled and quickly composed his expression.

I laughed, relieved. "Rhys, it's okay. Calm down, this jerk isn't worth it." I turned my back on Seamus and ignored him.

Rhys gave me half of his lunch, which I accepted gratefully. We were able to talk more freely now, as if the previous incident had cut the tension between us.

"I thought for a second there, you'd punch him." I told Rhys a few minutes later, smiling.

Rhys laughed out loud. "No way, I'd never have the guts!" He confessed, handing me his apple.

I doubted that, his face had told me differently, but then I did often let my imagination get out of hand.

"You didn't need to do that, Rhys. I can look after myself, you know." I looked at him. "But, thanks anyway." I added, smiling gratefully.

Luckily not many people had noticed the confrontation and Seamus had quickly disappeared. Seamus Bolide was an outsider, he talked to no one. He had messy black hair, with a hint of brown. His skin was ashen, but it had a glowing to it that you didn't understand. He had pale grey eyes, that sometimes looked as black as death. His face was handsome, with a pointed nose and long black lashes; most girls would have fancied the pants off him. Were it not for his personality.

Rhys interrupted my thought process. "You've got a bit of temper haven't you?" He asked smiling mischievously and brushing his honey blonde hair out of his eyes.

I grimaced. "Is it that obvious."

He chuckled, a deep sound. "Well, I've only known you for a couple of hours. You might just be having a really bad day."

I considered that. "Nope. This is as ordinary as it gets, I would scuttle if I were you."

His eyes widened in surprise. They seemed to do that a lot. "_This_ is ordinary?"

I nodded. "I've had worse. Much worse." I thought back gravely to the time where Percy and his friends… Never mind, scrub that thought. I'd gotten over that.

Rhys was quiet for a moment. "Haven't you told anyone?"

I rolled my eyes, anger bubbling up again. "Just mind your own business, will you!" I snapped.

He looked at me, hurt.

I immediately felt guilty. "I'm sorry. I just don't like it when people talk to me like I'm a helpless victim. I can look after myself." I added again.

Rhys nodded, understanding and dropped the subject. He didn't bring it up again.

The school day continued and Rhys and I made small talk. We talked about our families, our hobbies and other little things. I was finding it extremely uplifting to be able to talk to someone for once, instead of dwelling in the library on my own. I found that Rhys shared a love of books as well and I was delighted. I hoped that he would want to spend more time with me in the future. Not just with me as his tour guide.

Rhys told me of his abhorrence of maths and I told him about my passion for science.

Rhys was not at all freaked out when he found out that I rode the bike to school.

"It's very economic." He said, winking.

I pushed my bike, as he walked along side me. Soon we had reached his house and I promised to pick him up on the way to school tomorrow.

I couldn't believe that I'd finally made a friend.

When I got home, I was in a great mood. Mum wasn't back yet, so I changed and took Meg into the forest for a nice long stroll. On returning home I noticed the mail, un-opened lying on the floor. I picked it up and sifted through it, out of habit.

A bill, a letter from the school telling us about a fundraising event, a postcard from my brother in Spain and a letter addressed to me.

There was no address, no stamp, not even my proper name. Just '_**Catrin**_'. I wondered what it was and opened it.

Inside was a note. I unfolded it; my hands were shaking for some reason. It read:

_**We must not look at goblin men,**_

_**We must not buy their fruits:**_

_**Who knows upon what soil they fed**_

_**Their hungry thirsty roots?**_

There wasn't a signature. Not even the poet's name, for I assumed it was a poem. Or part of a poem. I struggled to remember, as I was sure I had seen it before, but the memory failed to come. Struggling to keep calm I put the note in my pocket and chucked the envelope in the bin.

Shoving thoughts of the strange message aside I began to read the rest of the mail.


	2. Sarcasm

**_09/02/10 _**

**_A/N: I know no one is probably reading this anyway, but if you are I'm very sorry for not updating in a long time. Therefore you get an extra-long chapter this time :)_**

**_All copyrighted to me. Please don't copy, print or steal this without my express permission._**

**_Thanks and Enjoy! _**

**Chapter 2 - Sarcasm**

I had some time before Eva would return home so I decided to start on my homework. I climbed the stairs and was loyally followed by Meg. I was glad that the day was finally over but something was nagging at me. My thoughts returned to that strange note and I gave up trying to concentrate and got it out of my pocket.

I inspected it a little closer. Nope, still nothing. Although it struck me as odd that someone would type this out on the computer.

_Unless they didn't want you to recognise the handwriting._ A voice piped up inside of me. I ignored it.

Curiously I turned the paper around, and gasped.

On the back was a symbol and four numbers: 18, 8, 25, 19.

My mind puzzled over what they could mean. The symbol was the likes of a star. It was two triangles drawn over on another to make a star. Inside of both the triangles was an asterix. It looked more like something a little child had drawn.

I sat in my room wondering and puzzling over the strange poem and number combination, I wondered if Eva would be home soon. I looked at the clock on my bedside table and noticed that it would still be a while. I sighed and decided to find out about the strange poem. I returned downstairs and switched on our computer. Eva had insisted on getting a Macintosh as PCs were 'Pieces of Crap'. I didn't protest and now we had a very flashy piece of technology in our dining room.

I decided to google the first line of the poem. I typed it in and waited for the results. A surge of adrenaline flowed through my body. I wondered why.

I found out that it was an excerpt from a poem by Christina Rossetti entitled 'Goblin Market'.

I faintly remembered studying it in English a while ago. I had no idea why someone would post this through my letter box. It was probably meant as a practical joke. I was about to turn off the computer and finally get rid of the stupid note, when I remembered the numbers.

I quickly searched for them as well, but all the results were useless and often bible passages. Sighing, I gave up and finally scrunched up the annoying piece of paper, pushing it from my mind.

I shoved away from the table and made my way to the kitchen, preparing our dinner.

The door slammed and Meg jumped up in excitement. She stood expectantly in front of the front door, tail wagging. As if that would make it magically open itself. I opened the door for her and dodged out the way as she raced past me, following her more slowly down the stairs.

Eva was unloading the boot of the car when Meg 'mugged' her. Eva giggled with surprise and gave Meg a big cuddle. I came to her aid and helped her carry the things in.

"Did you go shopping?" I asked when I noticed that this was more than the average luggage Eva brought home.

"Yes, I noticed this morning that all out cupboards were empty, so I stopped by the shops on the way back."

"Good idea." I said. Eva smiled. "I made us dinner." I added.

"Oh thanks, Catrin. I really wouldn't have bothered to cook if you hadn't." She said, smiling tiredly.

"I know." I said and brought her, her plate.

We usually ate at the dinner table, but Mondays were special as our favourite TV programme was showing. On Mondays we sat in front of the telly whilst eating our dinner. This seemed to delight Meg, as her nose was now much closer to our plates.

"Gosh, I'm so full now." Eva said a while later, throwing herself back into the settee.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." I replied, collecting her plate.

"Oh Catrin, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd survive." I said confidently.

"I'm not so sure." She said, giving Meg a big fuss.

I quickly rinsed off our plates in the kitchen whilst Eva tidied up the living room.

"Do you feel like watching a film?" She asked me loudly.

"It's ten o' clock, mum. I won't get out of bed tomorrow if I stay up much longer." I said emphasising my words with a yawn.

Eva smiled. "I see. Ah well, maybe tomorrow."

I had a sudden idea. "Mum." I said, to get her attention, whilst pulling the note from earlier out of my pocket. "Have you ever seen this symbol?"

I showed her the symbol on the back. She looked at it, puzzled.

"I don't think so," she mused, taking the note from my hands and holding it up against the light. "What is it?" She asked me.

I shrugged, embarrassed all of a sudden. "Just some note I got."

"A love note?" Eva asked, her eyes lighting up.

I laughed sarcastically. "Some love note. Probably just to freak me out." Immediately I thought of Percy. Anger boiled up within me. That rich bastard!

Then I remembered that Percy would be far to stupid to remember, let alone write a poem. Even if it was only an excerpt.

"Never mind." I said to Eva and took back the note.

"Catrin, are you okay?" She asked concerned.

"Sure. I'm fine." I said truthfully. I wasn't going to let some arse spoil my day, through a stupid note. Remembering Rhys I casually added: "There was a new student in our class today."

Eva looked up. "Really? What's she like?"

I smiled. "He's a boy. He's really nice. Mr. B. told me to show him around and we got along really well.

Eva grinned. "That's great. I hope I'll get to meet him soon."

Her joy made me forget the afore-mentioned paranoia and again I acquired my old spirits, remembering that it was only a few more hours until the next day of school.

I jumped up, said goodnight and went upstairs to my bedroom. I grabbed my clothes and jumped into the shower. Already longing for tomorrow.

I woke up the next morning with a smile on my face. I felt refreshed and content. I quickly dressed in my favourite clothes and shovelled down my breakfast. Today Eva was allowed a lie in. This meant that I wouldn't need to walk Meg, only quickly let her into the garden. Impatiently I waited for her to finish. Finally she came back in. I locked the door and rode off.

Rhys' house was exactly on my usual route to school. He was already waiting at the doorstep, a smile on his face when he spotted me.

"Morning Catrin." He greeted me, as I was getting off my bike.

"Hey, Rhys." I replied, admiring his bright and handsome face.

We immediately dove into a way of conversation, which seemed familiar and not new, like it really was. I felt as though I had known Rhys for a lot longer than just one day.

All my lessons went smoothly, better than smoothly. I had a great time. Rhys and I never ran out of subjects we could discuss. Our views weren't always the same, but that made it all the more exciting.

This year I had been urged to join a student group so I had decided for the Debating society. I had figured that most kids would choose the reading group, which was the main reason for my choice. So when the time came, I took Rhys to the allocated classroom with me, and went inside. Just to face the biggest regret so far. Percy had also joined the debating society. My eyes flashed with anger when I spotted him sitting there all smug and vain. He hadn't seen me yet, a fact which wouldn't last for very long.

I didn't notice any of the other people in the room. I kept my gaze steady on Rhys.

The room was set out just right for a group discussion. A big circle of chairs and tables all around the room.

"Look what the cat dragged in!" Percy shouted out suddenly. I noticed that the teacher hadn't arrived yet. Percy laughed as if he thought himself hilarious, "get it, _Cat_rin?"

I felt almost everyone looking at me, and couldn't help staring Percy right in the face. My eyes on fire.

He smiled, triumphantly. "How you doing, _Trina._"

I shuddered angrily. I absolutely loathed it when he called me that.

"Fine, Callie." I replied, a glint in my eye. I had made this nickname up for him and he had never found out why or what it stood for. Making him all the more detestable. It really was a joke I had shared with Eva. We had found the word Caligynephobia, which signified 'the fear of beautiful women', and Eva really thought it applied to Percy, as he was so _scared_ of me. So from that day on I had known him as 'Callie'.

Percy's face grew red, when he heard his most undesirable nickname. "Ha, ha so funny. I bet you don't even know what the fuck it stands for!"

I saw that he was losing his temper, but before I could retaliate, the teacher walked in.

Mrs. Browning was not a bad teacher. Known for her discipline and fairness to everyone. A fairness, which sometimes did more bad than good.

Everyone took their seats, and waited for the session to start.

The session started with bad news. Mrs. Browning had decided that to get to know each other better we would be split up into groups. She gave everyone a number and then all the people with the same number had to go in a group.

Dismayed, I looked at Rhys as I got pronounced a '2' and Rhys a '3'. I sighed, gathered my stuff and made my way to the right table.

I froze a few meters before it. Percy was sitting at the table, his face still with a hint of red in it.

_Please no!_ I looked at the other members of the table. There was a faintly familiar girl known as Tess. She looked devotedly up to Percy, and I knew that she fancied him like mad. Rolling my eyes I cast my gaze at the last member of the trio and was extremely annoyed to find Seamus Bolide sitting there, doodling on a piece of paper.

Getting myself together I marched purposefully towards the table. Tess was trying to engage Percy in conversation, when he spotted me.

I pulled the chair away from the desk (the only one left was opposite him) and threw myself down.

Angrily, Percy rolled his eyes. "Ugh, please not, _Trina_." He complained.

Childishly I stuck my tongue out at him. "Feel free to leave." I commented, harshly.

"I wish I could." He replied sulkily.

Seamus was looking at me; no _staring_ was the right word.

"What you looking at, tough guy?" I snapped.

His eyes widened for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"Someone's in a bad mood, today." He mumbled.

Tess giggled.

Percy wasn't finished. "She's always like that." He said, to Seamus. Confident of an encouraging response.

"How would you know that?" Seamus replied harshly.

Percy blushed. I smiled satisfied.

Just then, the teacher called the class to order.

She came around and gave every group a card, with a topic on it. A topic, which we should discuss. She told us that we shouldn't agree and even try arguing the side, which we didn't agree with.

Our topic was: 'Abortion'.

Percy groaned. "Great. We get a _girl's_ topic. Tess, Catrin." He beckoned to both of us. "Be my guest. I'm sitting this one out."

Tess was extremely eager to win his good opinion so immediately dove into conversation with me.

I rolled my eyes at Percy, who had slumped in his seat and was feigning to go to sleep. This topic did spark some interest within me. I would have loved to talk about it with Rhys. Tess was not outspoken enough to be a worthy debate partner. I looked around to find Rhys. He was in a group of four boys including him. He was busy chatting to a boy name Liam and didn't see my wandering gaze. I smiled, jealously.

Tess got my attention and unwillingly I started discussing the fact whether abortion was right, with her.

"Sure, it's not right to kill an embryo? That would be like killing a person." She said, a few minutes later.

"I see your point, but no one really knows _when_ exactly life begins. That embryo doesn't have to be alive yet. It could just be cells, there's no way of knowing yet if the embryo is really a living being like you and me. If it was just cells then there's nothing wrong with killing it, after all thousands, maybe millions of cells in our body and on our skin die every day." I said looking at her, expectantly.

"Would you like someone to talk about your life that way? You don't have a say, but someone can decide just like that to end your life. It's just not fair."

I smiled. She was actually putting quite an effort into the conversation.

"I don't think we'll be able to agree here, Tess. I just want to say that if you are an unwanted baby and you grow up, because abortion was forbidden. And you live your life unwanted by your parents, the people who should really love you. Wouldn't you rather have been 'killed' at say 3 weeks old?" I asked her.

"You can't ask her that." Seamus chided in, suddenly.

I looked at him, surprised. That was the first thing he'd said so far.

"Why not?" I asked, challengingly.

"Because, firstly you don't know what it's like to be that person. You have no way of knowing if that person would really want what you say they want.

And secondly, everyone has the right to live. You can't say that just because a baby is unwanted that it won't be loved. There are a lot of people who in the end, really regret ever of thinking about abortion. You cannot decide that because a woman says she wants an abortion, she should get one, or her baby should just be 'killed' off anyway, because it won't be treated right. Like Tess, said; you have no idea what that baby wants. You can't control everyone's life, Catrin."

He looked at me so earnestly it made my heart flutter for a second, before I recovered myself.

"That's not what I'm saying." I said, turning to face him. "I meant that under certain circumstances abortion is the right choice." Seamus looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, if not the _right_ choice then let me call it a 'well thought through' choice. It is after all mostly the woman's responsibility to raise and nurture her child, if she doesn't feel ready or hasn't got the means, then surely it is her choice if she would like a baby or not. Most women get an abortion because they feel the baby would not be happy in the present circumstances. A few years later though, and they have multiple children."

"Exactly!" He replied, as though I had made his point. "Women can act too rashly and then regret it for the rest of their lives."

He was about to add more, but was interrupted by Mrs. Browning: "Superb, just excellent! This is the conversation standard I'd like to see by the end of the year, from _all_ participants." She cast a warning glance at Percy. "Well done Miss Yates, well done Mr. Bolide. And indeed Miss White."

She smiled at us and cast a glance around the classroom.

I looked up astonished. I had gotten so intrigued in the conversation that I hadn't noticed Mrs. Browning standing there. I looked at the clock and gasped. Forty-five minutes had passed. Didn't that go quick?

Seamus seemed just as surprised. I was amazed to find that I was beginning to warm to him a little. He was a very worthy debating partner.

We started packing our stuff away. Seamus was quiet again. Tess seemed a little sulky that we had left her out of the discussion, but was quickly satisfied when Percy struck up a conversation with her.

I was about to walk out and meet up with Rhys, when Seamus nudged me. I looked at him, stunned.

"Sorry about yesterday, Catrin. I didn't mean to ruin your lunch. I hope you didn't go hungry?" He asked concerned.

I was utterly baffled. He was being a gentleman? "Oh. Um, no Rhys gave me some of his lunch. Thanks."

I thought I saw his eyes narrow, but I might have imagined it. He nodded politely and walked off.

I wondered back at his term of phrase '_I didn't mean to ruin your lunch'_? This was a strange thing to say. Almost as though he had meant to do _something else_.

I sighed at my paranoia, and shook it off.

Rhys spotted me, and walked over. He didn't look happy.

"Hey Rhys, what's up?" I asked, puzzled.

He shrugged, his face downtrodden.

I smiled. Well wasn't that a strange outcome to the lesson. Shouldn't that have been me in a bad mood? Shouldn't Rhys be sailing about being accepted by Liam and his friends? Sometimes life _is_ full of surprises!

"So what was your debating topic?" I asked Rhys curiously as we made our way to the canteen.

"The Death Penalty." He said sullenly.

I frowned. "Ugh, cheery."

"Ha, ha." He answered sarcastically.

I tugged his arm and pulled him to a stop. "What _has_ gotten into you?" I asked, getting annoyed at his grumpiness.

Rhys looked away. "I don't want to talk about it." He muttered, quietly.

I smiled tentatively. "It's okay, Rhys. You can talk to me." I reassured him, reaching out to pat his arm comfortingly.

He shrugged my touch off. "Please Catrin, just leave me alone." He walked off and left me standing in the corridor, dumbfounded.

Someone tapped me on the back. I rolled my eyes, annoyed at the intrusion. "What?" I snapped, turning around. I froze as I was confronted with those eerily handsome grey eyes, of Seamus Bolide.

"Jeez, are you always this moody?" He asked, eyeing me up and down.

I sighed, and shook off my irritation. "Sorry, bad day." I quipped simply.

He smiled sympathetically. "Old Callie, been getting on your case again?" He asked.

I was surprised that he had heard the nickname I had given Percy.

I shrugged, unconcerned. "_That_ I can handle, after all I get that everyday. _This,_" I jerked my chin in the direction Rhys had walked off, "I can't."

I swore I saw his eyes darken before he asked. "Gobel? What'd he do?"

"Don't ask me, I think something's bothering him, but then I've never understood the complicated workings of the male mind." My eyes widened in feigned surprise. "Hold on, did I just admit that men had minds?" I hit myself on my forehead with my palm, in a very duh! motion I remembered Leisha, my old best friend, doing a lot. "Sorry, take it back. Will never happen again."

Seamus arched one perfect brow at me.

"What?" I asked, innocently.

"You like sarcasm, don't you?"

"You think?" I asked sarcastically, just to emphasise his point, I flashed him a mischievous grin. "Yeah, I like sarcasm. A lot. It's like my native tongue."

He nodded, understandingly. "I guess not everyone understands your native tongue."

I smiled. "Not my problem."

Suddenly I realised what I was doing. I was bantering, with Seamus Bolide, in the _corridor_. What on Earth had gotten into me?

"Um, okay. I better go and…" I didn't finish my sentence, suddenly feeling awkward.

Seamus shrugged, good-naturedly. "It's fine Catrin. I'm surprised you even talked to me." He laughed.

"Why did you tap me anyway?" I asked, curiously.

"It seemed like you needed something." He said, looking to the floor for a fleeting second before he smiled again. "Anyway. See you in Biology." He said, before he turned around and walked back in the direction he'd come from.

Completely confused, I made my way slowly towards the canteen, trying to understand the events of the past two hours. Why was it that, both Rhys and now Seamus were acting weird around me all of a sudden?

I shrugged it off as I spotted Rhys sitting in a corner of the canteen. To be honest this had never been one of my favourite places in the school as it was always very noisy and bustling with people.

Rhys was sitting in a corner looking subjugated. I frowned as I saw a very slim, beautiful blonde try to talk to him. I quickly made my way, over and hoped he wasn't in any trouble.

'Hey, Rhys." I greeted him. "You feeling any better?"

He looked up at me and smiled, apologetically. "Yeah. Sorry I freaked out earlier. I've been talking to Celia here." He indicated the blonde with his hand.

She flashed me such a cover model smile that it actually made me cringe.

"Hi, Cat?" She asked holding out her hand to me.

I took her well-manicured hand in mine, before correcting her. "Catrin."

Her smile faded a little. I dropped her hand and looked at Rhys again.

"You ready to go, it's almost time for Biology?" I asked.

"Actually, Catrin, Celia just brought me my timetable and as I didn't pick Biology I don't have this next class with you." He looked at me apologetically.

Oh fine, if he'd rather hang out with _Celia_…

_Stop it!_ I told myself, it's not as if he has a choice.

Still anger swept through me. Against my will I was overwhelmed by emotions. I sighed at my stupidity. I wasn't ever going to learn.

Rhys got up as he saw my face. "Catrin, you alright?" He asked concerned.

His concern touched me and reigned in my emotions. Maybe he really did want to go to Biology with me. I smiled at him. "Sure, why not?" I asked.

He smiled at me in return. "I'll see you in Chemistry, after, kay?"

I nodded. He leaned forward and hugged me. I was so surprised that I didn't think to hug him back. Before I knew it Rhys and Celia were out the door.

I thought I saw Seamus eyeing me angrily from across the room, before he, too, disappeared through a door. But I might have only imagined it.

Sighing at the prospect of another lonely Biology lesson I made my way towards our classroom. But, then maybe all Rhys would have done was distract me.

As I walked into the classroom I noticed that the tables were rearranged. I smiled, happily. Oh, good. We were doing a practical.

I really liked getting my hands dirty and physically doing an experiment, anticipating and second guessing the end-result.

Mr. B. stood at the front of the classroom and was telling everyone where to sit. Mr. B. had learned a long time ago not to sit Percy and me too close together as 'too many sparks would cause a fire'.

I smiled at another quotation Leisha used a lot. Leisha was my soul mate and best friend. Until she had to move abroad, last year, due to her mother travelling a lot with her job. Ever since then I had been completely lonely, until I met Rhys.

Mr. B. showed me my seat and I waited to see who he would put next to me. It was usually a boy, as most girls couldn't '_survive_' my sharp, sarcastic comments.

Which, obviously _wasn't_ my fault…

Almost everyone was already seated; Mr. B. was talking to Seamus in a corner of the classroom. I watched them warily, wondering why Seamus was in trouble now. Although when I looked closer it didn't seem like Mr. B. was reprimanding him, more like encouraging him. How strange.

I wondered if Mr. B. didn't know that Rhys wasn't in this class anymore. I was about to get up and tell him when Seamus came sauntering over and sat in the seat next to me.

Surprised I looked to Mr. B. who currently had his back to me writing something on the blackboard.

Seamus smiled at me. "Hey, you get any closer to working out the complicated workings of my mind?" He asked.

I couldn't hide my smile. "Wow, you are very attuned to my language, how is that, I wonder?"

He laughed. It was a beautiful sound, like water lapping at the edge of a pond. "My sister. She's very similar to you." He answered.

There was a strange note in his voice and I wondered why. "Do you get along?" I asked.

"Most of the time." He smiled. "Although she's very stubborn and has the same fire in her eyes as you do."

I smiled. "I think I like her already."

He laughed again. "I'm sure you would. But I think I would like to leave the room before you two are thrown together. What is that saying? 'Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned?' Now what would happen with two of those women?" He feigned a face of horror and playfully crossed his legs to protect his 'assets'.

I giggled. "I'm not that bad."

He raised a sceptic brow at me.

"Okay, maybe I am."

He laughed. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently. Now I thought about it, I hadn't actually seen him laugh before he'd started talking to me. It really complimented his features and showed me those perfect teeth of his.

"So, how come you're so talkative all of a sudden?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged, good-naturedly. "You're an interesting person to talk to."

I scoffed, "Yeah, for suicidal or mental patients, sure." I laughed, "Maybe I should change my career plan. Become a Mental hospital worker instead."

Seamus shook his head, smiling. "I think you'd probably drive the suicidal ones over the edge and the lunatics would most likely need electro-shock treatment to get them over their 'first encounter' with you."

I gaped at him. "Thank you, sweet boy for all your lovely compliments." I teased him, sarcastically.

"You were asking for it."

"How very gentlemanlike of you." I slapped at his arm playfully, noticing absent-mindedly the hard and muscled feel of them.

"Never said I was a gentleman." He defended.

"Well thanks for clarifying the negative."

He laughed. "Ah, you'll get over it."

"And if not, I'll just verbally shoot you down." I rubbed my hands together, while grinning evilly. My very own lunatic bad-guy impression.

"Lovin' the Mr. Burns impression." He complimented me.

I smiled. "Hey, a girl's got to have some sort of talent."

Just then Mr. B cleared his throat.

I looked up to see him standing expectantly behind some equipment on his desk.

"Welcome to your first practical this year." He started. "Today we will be doing a titration. Has anyone here ever done a titration before?"

I raised my hand and looked around to see if anyone else had, too. To my surprise not many had ever done a titration before. Only a handful of students had raised their hands, _including_ Seamus. I looked at him arching a brow, questioningly.

"What?" he whispered.

"Nothing." I mouthed back and focused my gaze back on Mr. B.

"Hmm, okay doesn't matter if you haven't. Catrin, why don't you explain what titration is?"

I lowered my hand and opened my mouth to speak, "A titration is-" But before I could finish my sentence Percy butted in with:

"A crap way of telling us some shit about some other shit."

A few students in the back laughed.

Mr. B. cast a stern frown at Percy. He sighed disappointedly, "Percy, one more comment like that from you and I'll send you out, for good."

Percy mumbled something under his breath. Mr. B. refocused his attention on me.

I took a breath and continued: "A titration is a method of determining the concentration of a solution."

Mr. B. nodded. "Very good. Anybody want to add something to that?"

Seamus spoke up: "You find the concentration of one solution, by using another solution of which the concentration is known."

The class grew silent. Seamus had never simply spoken out before. He was silent, always.

Mr. B. nodded, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. "Very good, Seamus."

I looked to my left. Seamus was looking straight ahead, as if he was paying attention to the teacher, but somehow I sensed that he was watching me.

As if he felt my eyes on him, he turned his head and pierced me with his eyes. He smiled and for a moment I was so dumbfounded I couldn't breathe.

He arched on questioning brow. "Yes?"

I shrugged. "Never mind."

He smiled, mischievously almost as if he knew what his smiled had done to me. "Okay then."

The titration was quite straightforward. Seamus really knew what he was doing and I enjoyed having a lab partner that didn't need me to do all the work. Unsurprisingly, we finished first and were done clearing up when the bell rang.

I grinned when I finally left the classroom and found Rhys standing there, waiting for me. Celia was nowhere in sight.

He returned my smile. "Hey." He greeted me.

"Hi." I replied simply. Rhys' smile faltered when Seamus stepped next to me.

Seamus glared in his direction.

Suddenly I hit myself on the forehead, remembering that I hadn't noted down the homework. I turned around to walk back into the classroom, to find the door locked. I sighed, frustrated. I looked a Seamus, "Can I copy today's homework from your planner, I forgot to write it down?" I asked expectantly.

Seamus glared at me. "Ask Mr. B.. Jeez, I'm not your babysitter. Take some bloody responsibility for your life!" He marched off.

I just stood there, completely baffled by his response. I could still sense his strange anger and for reasons unknown to me, it had hurt my feelings. What had happened to upset him so? I looked at Rhys, who shrugged. "Weirdo."

I shook my head, still dazed. "That was unusual." I stated.

Rhys snorted, unbelieving. "Yeah, sure it was." He said sarcastically.

I looked at him. "It _was_, he was really cooperative in the lesson."

Rhys still didn't believe me. "Yeah, and my grandmother's the tooth fairy."

I followed Rhys to the parking lot, still analysing Seamus' outburst in my head.

Rhys turned around suddenly and faced me. "Look Catrin, that _wasn't_ weird. That was _Seamus_." He spat the name out in disgust.

I was immediately suspicious. "And how come you know him so well?" I asked.

"I don't." He snapped. His voice softened. "But as I remember it wasn't _me_ who ruined your lunch and refused to apologise for doing so."

I sighed, coming to my senses. "Alright I know, it's just…" I didn't finish the sentence.

"It's just what?" He asked, exasperated.

"Never mind." I didn't want to tell him that I sensed that something was off. That would sound stupid, I mean who _sensed_ things like that, right?


	3. Perseus the Great 'Malaka'

**AN: Okay, I realise I haven't updated in ages. A very long age... oops. Anyway, this is an update, but not really... :-/ The perfectionist that I am, I was very unhappy with the previous chapter so decided to almost completely rewrite it... double oops.**

**So, sorry if this is disappointing. BUT if you do want to continue following the story, then the new version of this chapter is VITAL to the story :)**

**Thanks, enjoy :)  
**

**Chapter 3**

The next day in Biology, after asking Mr. B about yesterday's homework and noting it down, I made sure to spread myself out as much as possible on my bench. I put my bag on the seat next to me, and spread my textbooks across the whole length of the table. I wanted to avoid anyone sitting there at all costs, especially _Seamus_. I was still angry at his sudden change of personality yesterday afternoon.

I thought, that maybe he'd realised that he didn't really like me after all. Immediately I scorned myself for that thought. _Of course _he didn't like me. What had I been thinking in the first place? Well, I had thought that we'd formed some sort of friendship. I'd begun to realise that we were two quite similar creatures. I decided then and there that I would never speak another nice word to Seamus. I shouldn't even care what he thought. I took all the anger and hate harbouring inside of me and directed it at him. So, when he walked into the classroom, looking so forbiddingly handsome, acting as if he owned the classroom, I immediately shifted my gaze to the blank page of my textbook.

I blocked out everything I heard and sensed and directed all my focus towards my pen. Admiring the workmanship and effort put into it. Anything to keep from looking at _him_. I wondered for a second if I hated him more than Percy, but quickly directed my thoughts in a different direction. Because deep down, I knew I didn't really want to hate Seamus. Unfortunately for him, that small inconsequential part of me was currently being subdued by the rest of my frustratingly stubborn mind.

Suddenly I felt someone next to me. Without looking up I knew it was him. I knew I would have been able to smell his scent and sense his presence even if he was in the next room. He smelled appealingly of cinnamon, honey and summer. The smell made me feel strangely at home.

Remembering all my hatred and transferring it into my eyes, I looked up and glared at him.

He seemed a bit surprised at my expression, but quickly hid any emotion from his face.

"Hey, Catrin." He greeted me, pleasantly.

I managed to hide the shiver that travelled down my spine when he said my name. I didn't want _anything_ to do with him, I reminded myself.

"What do you want?" I hissed at him, looking to see if anyone was watching.

"I wanted to sit next to you."

His answer was so simple and plain that I was disarmed for a moment. I quickly recovered. "I don't want you here. Get lost!" I snapped again.

I thought I saw a tiny bit of hurt in his eyes, but quickly convinced myself I'd imagined it.

Just then Mr. B. cleared his throat, motioning for everyone to sit down. Without another word to me, Seamus removed my bag from the table and placed it on the floor next to him. He shifted over my textbooks and replaced them with his own.

I was positively seething now, "What, do you think you're doing?" I growled at him.

He looked at me, face perfectly innocent, but I knew that he knew the reason for my anger. "Sitting down." He said as if it was perfectly obvious.

"I'm sorry if I haven't made this clear enough for you, but _I _don't want _you _to sit _here_."

A slight smile ghosted his lips. "I don't see that there's anything you can do about it now."

That was it. I snapped. "Fine." I growled at him and raised my hand. Mr. B. was currently facing the blackboard, which meant he hadn't seen it, yet.

I had Seamus' attention now. "What are you doing?" He asked, and I swear he sounded exasperated.

"What does it look like?" I retorted angrily.

He sighed. "Catrin, please stop it."

"No," I quipped stubbornly.

Again that slight smile flew across his face. "God, she was right, you are _so_ stubborn." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. An action that made me want to replace that hand with my own. Quickly erasing that thought I returned my attention to Mr. B., wondering who "_she" _was.

He sighed again, aggravating me even more. "Catrin, look I'm sorry." He sounded sincere.

That wasn't enough for my overly and afore mentioned stubborn personality. "Sorry, about _what?"_ I hissed.

"Sorry for being a jerk, okay? I just… I can't help it."

I scoffed, "You can't _help_ it? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Why can't you simply _apologise_?"

He turned to look at me and I thought that he would start a rant, instead he completely surprised me. He looked deeply into my eyes and I could feel the heat flush into my cheeks. "I'm really sorry, Catrin. Honestly."

He looked so sincere that I almost believed him, _almost._

"Yeah, right." Nonetheless I lowered my hand.

Seamus frowned at me. "I meant it Catrin."

"Uh huh. Sure." I said sarcastically

He was so close all of a sudden I could feel the heat radiating of him. His scent hit me like a cannonball and I felt drunk on it. He moved his mouth to my ear and whispered, "I promise, Catrin," he breathed, "I mean it with all of my being."

And just as quick as he'd approached, he had retreated and was sitting upright again.

I looked around the classroom to see if anyone had noticed our intimate exchange, but no one was looking in our direction.

My whole body felt alive, the feeling of his breath on my ear burnt into my memory.

The annoying thing was that all my anger had dissipated. I only felt, emotionally drained. Which was unusual enough as I always seemed to feel such strong emotions that mostly didn't even make sense. Sometimes I even thought that I was feeling other people's emotions, which would explain my terrible temper. I had once asked my mum about it, and she reckoned it was teenage hormones. That had made the most sense to me and I'd never questioned it again, until now.

I glanced sideways at him, trying to sense his mood. That thought took me off guard how would I _sense_ his _mood_? How stupid was that? I wasn't some sort of psychic, was I?

"You look very pensive." Seamus stated curiously, interrupting my line of thought.

My face must have looked blank, because he kept talking.

"Hello, earth to Catrin?"

I looked at him. "What?" I asked, a little annoyed.

He chuckled, "where did you disappear off to, just now?"

I scowled at him. "Mind your own business!"

He blushed, which just confused me even more. What reason did he have to be blushing?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry or anything…" He trailed off.

I was utterly confused. "What did you think I was thinking about?" I asked exasperated, again.

He seemed embarrassed, "Uh, nothing. Never mind." He smiled, uncertain.

"Seamus, tell me." I demanded.

He just shook his head, not willing to tell me.

I sighed and shook my head in frustration. This was just the most impossible conversation I had ever had.

"So, you and new boy made up then?" He asked, and I thought I heard a note of bitterness in his voice.

I frowned, something tugging at the corner of my mind. "Yes." I replied cautiously wondering if he was changing the subject on purpose.

"Good." He answered simply, although it didn't sound like he really found it very good at all.

"What's it got to do with you, anyway?" I asked, defensive about Rhys.

He shrugged. "Nothing."

"Uh huh." I answered, not believing him for a second.

"You know that saying, 'choose your friends wisely'?"

"Yeah, what about it?" I retorted.

He raised one eyebrow, and looked at me pointedly.

I scoffed. "If you're saying what I think you're saying, you better make yourself scarce because I can't stand people who spread lies about other people without getting the facts right first!" I was almost shouting at this point, so I was lucky that the rest of the class was equally noisy at the moment and my voice was lost in the room.

"How dare you tell me, who to befriend! If I think someone is a good person, I'll stick by that opinion until proven wrong."

"That's the thing Catrin, I don't want you to be proven wrong."

"Well then stick your _judgements _where the sun don't shine, cause I don't want to hear them!"

I sensed him getting irritated, which only made my anger mount. "Why don't you ever listen, Catrin?" He accused, "I'm just trying to help here, and all you do is get upset!"

"Help? How are you helping, exactly? By destroying friendships, ha great help that! You are _such_ an arrogant s-…" The bell went, interrupting the stream of profanities I was about to unleash on him. Angrily I gathered up my things and stormed out of the room, before Seamus could make me do something I'd regret.

I was rushing out of the classroom not looking where I was going, so I was surprised when all of sudden I was sprawled out on the floor. I heard mocking laughter above me and recognised it as Percy's voice.

A hand was held out for me, I ignored it and stood up with as much dignity as I could muster. I saw Percy standing there; proud of himself, his foot still in the same place I had been walking a couple of seconds ago. Obviously placed there just so the following would happen.

I glared at him with all the hate in my being. I had been upset one time too many over the past 36 hours.

"What is your problem, asshole?" I hissed at him.

He shrugged; amused at my anger and oblivious he was this close to having my fist in his face.

"I think it's pretty obvious, don't you?" He quipped overconfidently.

I wanted to wipe that awful smirk right of his face.

I noticed that some of Percy's mates were eyeing me warily, as if they could tell what was about to happen.

I was visibly shaking now, about to explode, when I felt a soothing hand on my shoulder and immediately knew it was Seamus.

"Don't touch me!" I hissed at him, not even looking back at him and shaking his hand of.

Percy laughed arrogantly. I glared at him, but was distracted by the feeling of Seamus' body so close behind mine. I forced my thoughts away from that direction and all my previous feelings of fury came flooding back.

"Catrin, calm down." Seamus tried to soothe me, it was futile. I could feel my anger bubbling over; I could even feel Seamus' anger radiating from him and fuelling my own rage. It wouldn't be long, before someone would get hurt.

"Catrin, think about it. You don't want to do this." Seamus whispered soothingly in my ear.

It would have worked, had I not been almost equally pissed of with him. "Stop. Telling. Me. To. Calm. The. Fuck. Down!" I didn't swear a lot, actually I hardly ever swore, only when I was really riled up, obviously this was one of those occasions.

I saw Percy grinning victoriously. "See I told you, you were wasting your time. She is such a _bitch_!"

That _did_ it, without thinking about it; I lunged out putting all of my strength into my fist and smashing it right into Percy's grimacing face. I could feel the pain travelling up my arm and through my hand, but ignored it and was rewarded with the satisfying sound of Percy howling in pain. I smiled proudly, feeling much better now that my anger had been released.

I grabbed my bag from the floor and quickly skipped off to my next class, not thinking about the consequences my actions may have caused.

My last class was Chemistry, as I walked in I realised that gossip travelled fast and by the time I was seated next to Rhys I had apparently not just punched Percy in the face, but also threatened to kill him with a knife and broken his jaw with my 'super-punch'. I smiled inwardly thinking how ridiculous a story could get.

Rhys nudged me in the side, I shuddered at his touch. I couldn't quite figure out if it was a good reaction or a bad one.

I looked at him expectantly.

"I heard what happened." He whispered.

I rolled my eyes. "No, I did not break Percy's jaw."

Rhys looked shocked, "you didn't?"

I sighed, "Do you think I could do that? Of course I didn't, I only punched him, I didn't permanently harm him. Unfortunately…" I added wistfully, smiling at him mischievously.

He raised an eyebrow, "well it seems to have cheered you up."

I grinned. "It's a nice feeling, I finally stood up to him."

Rhys returned my smile. "You should do it more often."

I froze. "What?" I asked shocked.

"You should stand up to him more often." He repeated.

I looked at him quizzically, hoping he hadn't meant what I was thinking. "You mean I should hit him every time he picks on me?" I asked, incredulously.

Rhys shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal. "If it helps, why not?"

I scoffed. "I can't just go around punching everyone who annoys me, Rhys!"

He looked at me, puzzled. "Isn't that what you just did?"

I looked at him, taken aback. My good feeling was fading fast. Had I just _lost_ it? Should I not have struck Percy? I felt feelings of remorse, guilt and shame bubbling up within me.

"What have I done?" I whispered. I would get into serious trouble once the teachers found out what had happened.

"Catrin, what's the matter? Did I say something?" He sounded worried.

I looked at him and came to the sudden realisation that he wasn't quite the person who I thought he was. I knew now, that if it had been Rhys by my side in that corridor with Percy, that he'd have only egged me on to punch him, or done it himself. Even though I remembered Rhys telling me that he was far to scared to ever hit someone, I highly doubted that now. Rhys gave me the strong impression that he wasn't afraid to throw a few punches at someone, and that not much would stop him.

"_You know that saying, 'choose your friends wisely'?"_ An eerie echo of Seamus earlier this morning went through my head. I shivered suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

"Catrin?" Rhys' voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Have you ever hit someone?" I asked him, absentmindedly. A little afraid his answer would confirm my suspicions.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "A couple of times, maybe. Why?"

I felt lied to, suddenly. "I thought you said you'd 'never have the guts' to hit someone?"

Rhys' expression froze. He looked at me suspiciously, a hint of anger playing on his features. "So? Maybe I lied, okay! It's not like I go around and beat people up for fun."

Abruptly I had a vision of Rhys stalking through the streets at night, looking for innocent victims he could brutalise. I shook my head to clear the thoughts away, but the image was branded into my mind. I didn't think that Rhys was telling me the whole truth. _Jeez, first he's the best person in the world and now he's and uncontrollable criminal! I must have gone insane._ That might have been the case, and I really wanted to forget the suspicious thoughts tugging at the edge of my mind, but something was different. I could tell.

"Catrin, will you tell me what the hell you're thinking about!" Rhys demanded.

I looked at him, a little voice in the back of my mind was telling me to act normal, give nothing away, but as usual I ignored it.

"Why did you lie to me?" I asked, the betrayal I felt coming through in my voice. Couldn't I just have one friend, who really liked to hang out with me? You did, but she's gone. I sighed, thinking that Leisha would've known exactly what to do in this situation.

Rhys looked irritated, but there was an emotion underneath the surface that I couldn't quite discern.

"I lied to you? It was one stupid sentence, Catrin! I'm sorry, okay? You don't need to get all worked up about it."

I studied his face, calculatingly. "You're hiding something." I stated simply, wondering at his reaction.

He thought about it for a second, seeming to decide whether to tell me or not. He looked around the classroom, as if he didn't want to be overheard.

"Not here." He whispered.

I raised an eyebrow, thinking how secret this could be, but my curiosity got the better of me. "Okay, where then?"

I might have imagined the slight victorious smile that flashed across his face, I might not. I had no way of knowing either way.

He looked at me, piercingly with those emerald eyes of his. "Can I come to your place after school?" He asked, hushed.

I squirmed, uncomfortable. I didn't want him in my home. I knew Eva wouldn't mind, she'd been wanting to meet Rhys anyway, even though she wouldn't be home until at least midnight tonight. It was just the thought of being alone with Rhys that raised Goosebumps on my skin; there was something about him now, that I didn't trust.

I sighed, hoping I wasn't going to regret this, "Yeah, okay. Come around at six." I wrote the address down for him and soon after the bell went.

I hurried home, thinking about the strange events of the day and worrying what would happen tonight with Rhys.

There was something constantly tugging at the edge of my mind as if it would clue me in to what was really happening. My thoughts kept returning to Seamus, and how his warning might have been more accurate than I would care to admit.

_You're imagining things, Catrin. You've had a very stressful day._ I wondered if that was it, if I was just stressed out, and all that was going to happen tonight was two friends getting to know each other better. I wondered if I wanted to know Rhys better than just a friend. It hadn't really crossed my mind before; I asked myself if I thought of Rhys that way. My mind couldn't form an answer, it kept warning be to be wary of him. Something was telling me that something bad would happen tonight. Something that couldn't be reversed, something that would change my life forever.

When I got home, I performed all my usual chores and started to do a little homework. I wondered if I should change before Rhys arrived. This wasn't a date, was it? I doubted it, we wouldn't discuss family secrets on a first date, I hoped at least. I was trying to imagine myself with Rhys, to see how I felt about it. My mind seemed to shy away from it, every time I imagined touching Rhys or kissing him, Rhys' face always transformed into Seamus'. I was getting angry with myself for even thinking about him that way, after he'd been such a jerk. But when I thought about it, I realised that he hadn't really been a jerk; he'd only been trying to help, hadn't he?

I sighed, all this speculation and stress too much for the moment, it was best just to get tonight over with and find out what was really going on.

Just as I had shoved the freshly prepared dinner in the oven, the doorbell rang. Nervous, suddenly I made my way to the door and opened it. Behind it I found Rhys, his hair slightly damp from the slight drizzle that had begun outside. Rhys had changed into something a little more casual, jeans and a v-neck sweatshirt. The top hugged his form tightly, showing off all his muscles. I wondered how hard he had worked to obtain that form.

Rhys smiled a warm smile at me. "Hey Catrin, I hope I'm not late."

He seemed so different, so relaxed. All the suspicious thoughts I had had about him went to the back of my mind, and again I wondered if I wanted to be more than just 'friends' with Rhys.

"Nope, right on time." I ushered him in, speculating how this evening was going to turn out.

"Mmh, what's cooking?" He asked, sniffing the air.

"Lasagne." I answered, it was my signature dish.

"Smells lovely." He complimented.

"Thanks." I replied, flattered. "It'll be ready in about half an hour, do you want something to drink?"

He smiled, "why don't you set things up in the living room, and I'll get the drinks?"

I returned his smile, not wanting to tell him that I'd already cleared the living room. "Sure, why not. There's some lemonade and some juice in the fridge."

I left him to it and went into the lounge, searching for the remote to switch the telly on. I found it just as Rhys walked in with two Orange Juices. I took mine and set it down on the coffee table.

"Do you want to watch some telly?" Why was this feeling more and more like a date?

He shrugged. "Not particularly, but don't let me stop you."

I put the remote away, "probably nothing on anyway."

We both sat down on the couch. It was strange to be with him outside of the school environment. He seemed much calmer. Tentatively I took a sip of my orange juice, the cool soothing liquid slid down my throat. I sighed, contentedly, and started to take another sip. The moment the liquid touched my lips I knew something was wrong. All of a sudden my mouth felt numb, my tongue felt heavy and leaden. Every movement of my body seemed a great effort. My mind screamed out in confusion, 'what the hell was going on here?' Was I dreaming? I raised my gaze to Rhys' face, only to be baffled by the expression I found on it. He was wearing a smug and horribly foreboding looking smile. I shuddered, knowing that I needed to get out of here. The problem was my limbs seemed uncooperative.

"It's awful, isn't it? Not being able to move like that?"

I looked up at the sound of the cold voice, completely alien to me. This wasn't Rhys. At least not the Rhys I had come to know over the past two days. My mind screamed at that fact. Two days! I'd known him two days and already invited him into my home? Well it wasn't as if he had seemed particularly dangerous, although observing his manner now, had quickly changed my mind.

I tried to open my mouth to say something, but it was getting increasingly difficult to even breathe.

Rhys noticed my attempt and his smug smile transformed into a fully-fledged evil grin. "Don't bother trying to speak. The paralytic powder I mixed into you orange juice means that you will be at my mercy in let's say…' he glanced at his watch speculatively, 'ooh about another two minutes. And in less than five…' he trailed off, raising a taunting eyebrow. 'You'll be dead.'

I flinched. This couldn't be happening, not to me. I must be dreaming. But, why did this all feel so real?

Again I tried to speak, but only managed a few slurred syllables before my tongue faltered. In vain I tried to raise my hand to get up, clutching with my fingers at the back of the settee, but my hands felt as if filled with lead and I could barely keep myself sitting upright, let alone move.

Shuddering I thought, this was just like one of those dreams where you can never move when you want to, your mind screaming at you to go. I wanted to shout, scream, anything to bring help, but I knew it was in vain. My lungs were too weak, and my heartbeat was starting to slow down. I could hear it pounding in my ears, like a sombre drumbeat announcing my certain doom.

'Why is he doing this?' My mind screamed out in panicked confusion.

My eyes were drawn to Rhys once more as he let out a vile laugh. "Why? You would never understand. Your wretched father died before he could tell you his secret and your grandmother thought it safer for you not to know." He laughed again. "Ironic really isn't it? Trying in vain to protect you and all it got you was your death."

How had he known what I was thinking? My mind puzzled over the strange occurrence. Something in my mind clicked, it wasn't possible, but could he…-

"Read minds? Yes, yes I can." His grin bore such a resemblance to Percy that morning it made me shiver. "Unfortunately," he went on, "Your heritage will only let me into your dull head once you are under the influence of a toxin that weakens the protective walls around your mind. So you see the partial necessity for the drug." He beckoned to the orange juice, with a glint in his eye.

'My heritage?' I wondered, what did he mean by that?

Rhys sighed. "I'm not going to go into it now, what would be the point when you're only going to die anyway? Let's just say, your parents are not who you think they are."

My mind was close to shattering under the pressure it was under. The realisation that my death was just seconds away hit me like a bullet to the stomach and a surge of adrenaline flowed through my body. I wasn't going to sit here on this sofa and die peacefully in front of him. I was going to fight with whatever strength there was left in me and make it known to the world that Rhys was a crazy and sick murderer who needed to be locked away.

Apparently listening in on my plan of protest, Rhys rolled his eyes. "And here we go, with the attempted escape. Jeez you people are all the same."

The cold, nonchalant way he said that made me all the more resolute. Gathering all the strength left in my body and focusing all my anger and hate towards Rhys, I managed to lift my right hand and slap him hard across the face.

Rage filled his eyes. "You bitch!" He shouted. A red mark was starting to appear where my hand had wounded his skin.

I cringed, it had made me feel better, but unfortunately it had completely unleashed Rhys' rage. Flinching away from Rhys' raised hand; I tried to roll off the sofa. I landed with a thud on my stomach, a helpless lump on the floor. Abruptly something heavy landed on my back. I tried to get out underneath, of what I now knew to be Rhys' raging form, but was to weak to kick my legs hard enough. His fists started beating upon my back, I wanted to cry out in pain, but all I could do was lie there and take it.

Suddenly the pain was gone, and the weight was shifted off my back. I heard a resounding crash echo through the room. It had sounded like something had been smashed. Hope filled my body. Had somebody heard a disturbance and decided to call the cops?

Determined to see what was happening I twisted my body on the ground to catch a glimpse of the events evolving in my living room. All I could hear were several people grunting with effort, as if they were fighting.

Two pairs of legs appeared in my sight and I recognised one of them as Rhys', the other seemed familiar, but my sluggish mind wasn't able to identify them.

"Get Catrin and get out of here!"

Immediately I recognised the voice that seemed to come from the strangely familiar set of legs, locked in battle with Rhys. It was Seamus. Relief flooded me like never before, and at once I felt safe. I had no idea, why this one person would make me feel so secure, but my body had been through enough for one day and did nothing to fight when a pair of warm, gentle hands started to lift me up from the floor. Reassured that everything would be all right, my mind took on a strange sense of calm. So, it was a great surprise when suddenly my head was slammed into the table above me, and pain spread throughout my skull. I heard a softly muttered curse before everything went black.

**AN: Hope you liked it! :) **

**I'll try and get a new update on here soon, I've already started on the next chapter, but it's quite a complex one, so bear with me! If there even is anyone still left bothering to read this... LOL**

**Love x **

**Tiga  
**


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